Money CAN Buy You Love

I’m sure Paul McCartney had good intentions when he wrote The Beatles’ 1964 classic “Can’t Buy Me Love”.  “These material possessions are all very well, but they won't buy me what I really want,” is what he was quoted saying when asked the meaning of the song.

False, Paul!  False! Money can buy Vikings Nation exactly what it wants...a playoff-caliber quarterback. 

The Wilfs are among the best owners in sports; shelling out millions to bring in premiere free agents and rocking the boat with mega-trades such as last year’s Jared Allen deal. 

With nearly $32 million of cap space to work with again this offseason I say our front office tests the Wilfs’ will to win in this stumbling economy. Spend their money like they’re billionaires. Because, as another McCartney composition so bluntly says, we need someone to “Carry The Weight” of this NFC North champion.

The last few seasons Adrian Peterson (a.k.a. All Day; a.k.a. Purple Jesus) has definitely done the lion's share of carrying, improving nearly every game.

We all know, however, that in order to win playoff games, and ultimately Super Bowls, you need someone behind the center that can lead you on meaningful drives in meaningful situations or at the very least (for all you Trent Dilfer fans) not throw the big games away. 

Adrian Peterson only touches the ball 25-30 times a game, max.  Can you really tell me that the names Tarvaris Jackson, Gus Frerotte or Sage Rosenfels will ever be mentioned in the same sentence as “Super Bowl” or “champion”?  There’s no way. 

I don’t want to be the 2009 version of the 2006 Bears: a team that had every opportunity to win the Super Bowl, had Sexy Rexy not just been a subpar quarterback along for the ride on the shoulders of a tremendous special teams and one of the most opportunistic defenses in recent memory.

I want to win BECAUSE of our quarterback, not in spite of him. (This previous sentence could be applied directly to our head coach, Brad Childress, who looks like a fifth-grade gym teacher you wouldn’t want your fifth-grader to be too close to, but that is a subject for another column).

Let’s look at some of the options, whether they be long shots or likely possibilities: Donovan McNabb, Jeff Garcia, Matt Cassel, Byron Leftwich.  Let’s assume that the teams that own the rights to any of these QBs are willing to at least listen to offers. 

Let’s also assume Winter Park isn’t satisfied with our current quadruplets of Jackson, Frerotte, Rosenfels and Booty. If they are, they shouldn’t be.

1. Jeff Garcia

A safe pick that isn’t exactly invigorating, but is a substantial improvement from what we have.  He’s been in the playoffs multiple times before with teams that weren’t nearly as talented overall as this Vikings team (although a career playoff QB rating hovering around 75.0 doesn’t exactly inspire). 

He showed toughness and grit in a 19-13 victory against the Vikes this year down in Tampa.  He is mobile and experienced, yet he, along with Leftwich, would not create much immediate stir in the fan base or the locker room, I do not believe.

2. Byron Leftwich

Probably my least favorite option at this point, although he has far more experience and proven toughness than does the newly acquired Sage Rosenfels, who can never seem to win a starting job anywhere he goes. 

He had his moments in Jacksonville and filled in admirably in limited action last season with Pittsburgh, but he has had nagging injuries throughout his career and hasn’t proven much in NFL crunch time situations. 

But, as most are, it would be an improvement over the current situation.

3. Matt Cassel

I don’t know what to think about this one.  Hadn’t start since high school.  Living the life playing backup QB for USC and New England. Gets thrown into the meat grinder that is the NFL season and succeeds.  What can we attribute his success to? 

Bill Belichick’s system? Was it the formidable Randy Moss and Wes Welker combo?  Or is he actually legit? I would say somewhere in between. 

One solid season in the NFL, especially for quarterbacks (paging Jake Delhomme), is not indicative of future results.  This is such a big risk, but has such a possibility for even bigger rewards. 

The question remains would the Vikings be willing to give up a probable first-round pick and then proceed to give Cassel a mega contract, just on a possibility of reward?  They did it last year with Jared Allen, but he was more of a proven commodity. If it is a bust, we’re stuck with a huge cap hit. 

If it works, we have our QB for the next eight years.  Let’s see if Chilly is feeling lucky this spring.

4. Donovan McNabb

Now this would be awesome. A proven NFL star, who witnessed a rebirth in his confidence in the second half of last season and is following a deep playoff run. People can rag on him for losing all of those NFC Championship games, but that is ludicrous. 

First of all, he got to them, which is a lot more than we can say.

Second of all, when Todd Pinkston is your No. 1 receiver, you don’t exactly have an embarrassment of riches to choose from when you drop back to pass.  He has done a lot with a little and is a class act to boot. 

Put Donovan behind center (whoever that may be this season) with Adrian and Chester behind him, Bernard and Sydney split out wide and McKinnie and Hutchinson protecting his blind side, and you have a potential NFC Championship team headed to the its first Super Bowl since 1977.

I would love this move. Donovan’s future is still up in the air with the Eagles and I think, with the money and ownership we have, we should make Donovan and Philly an offer they can’t refuse.

The possibilities of this happening aren’t very high, especially with the gym coach’s undying faith in Tarvaris, but we can dream.

In summary, the NFL is not Major League Baseball.  You can’t put together a nucleus of players gradually over many years and have it culminate in a long span of winning seasons. 

The average career of an NFL player is three and a half years.  Adrian has already been around for two great, but grueling, season. Hutchinson and McKinnie are getting older and Birk probably won’t be around next year.

The Williams Wall isn’t exactly young and Winfield and Sharper are on the downside of their careers (although Antoine had a tremendous season in 2008). 

We need to win now and the only way to do that in today’s NFL is with a competent, if not good, quarterback. The Vikings have the talent to win at an extremely high-level.  Whether they choose to take the next step is up to them.

P.S. Hey there, Bleacher Reporters. This is my B/R debut. Hope you enjoyed the Vikings ramblings.  Please let me know how I and the Vikings can improve.  Thanks a lot!